Aquatread Award Winning Tire Design By Goodyear
Goodyear’s Aquatread tire was a breakthrough in tire technology—it provided substantially enhanced wet-weather traction without sacrificing dry-road handling, ride, noise or grip. With its distinctive center “aquachannel,” it carved a new niche in the replacement tire market.
The concept is simple: a groove down the center–the aquachannel–of the tread. The channel serves to drain water from the wedge of water that normally lifts the tread rubber clear of the pavement when the water is deep enough or the speed is high enough. When that wedge does lift a tire off the pavement, the tire—and the car—hydroplanes. An ordinary passenger-car tire can hydroplane on wet pavement at normal traffic speeds, increasing braking distances and reducing steering control.
Goodyear has improved on the concept over the years since it was introduced. The latest version of the rain tire is called the Aquatred 3. The most noticeable difference between it and its predecessors is the paired aquachannels, capable of evacuating even more water than the previous tire’s single groove.
Labels: Automotive, feature, Technology Beats, Tire
